“Everyone always expects something.”
“Not true.”
“For a vampire, you’re very naïve.”
“For a human, you’re very jaded,” he saidwith a smile.
Maggie didn’t smile back. “Why did youattack Nigel like that?”
Aiden stiffened as he contemplated hisanswer. “He hurt you, he was harassing you, and I won’t toleratesomeone treating you that way.”
“But it was so… so…”
“Violent,” he supplied when she seemedunable to find the word.
“Yes. And an unnecessary overreaction.”
“I know,” he admitted. He ran a hand throughhis hair as she studied him warily. “You never should havewitnessed it, and I will try to keep you from seeing anything likethat again, but I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”
“Why?”
“Because I got you into this mess, and Iwill get you through whatever follows. But no matter what happens,I will never hurt you.”
“Hmm,” Maggie grunted, not entirely sure shebelieved him about why he’d reacted that way, but she did believehim when he said he wouldn’t hurt her. “Why did you stop hittingNigel when I asked you to?”
“Because I knew I’d overreacted and you’dalready been through and seen too much. Inevershould haveattacked him like that, not in front of you.”
His earnest words and the plea radiatingfrom his eyes for her to understand tugged at her heart.
“Don’t fear me, Maggie,” he whispered.
“I don’t,” she replied honestly.
She turned away from him and started walkingdown the street. She stopped at the small convenience store on thecorner, pushed the glass door open, and waved to the clerk behindthe counter. She saw the clerk every day, and they always exchangedcasual conversation, but she couldn’t remember his name, and hedidn’t wear a tag.
“Hey, you! No shirt, no service!” the clerkdeclared when the bell over the door jangled and Aiden stepped intothe store behind her.
Maggie glanced over her shoulder and frozewhen Aiden’s gaze locked onto the clerk. “It’s fine,” Aiden said ina soothing tone. “We’ll be out of here soon. Go back to doing whatyou were doing before we entered.”
The clerk became slack-jawed before he wentback to flipping through the magazine on the counter. Maggiefrowned at Aiden when he walked over to join her. “Have you donethat to me?” she demanded.
“No.”
“Would you tell me if you had?”
He cupped her cheek with his hand and rubbedhis thumb tenderly over her skin. “I will not lie to you, Maggie.And you don’t ever have to be concerned about me changing yourmemories or messing with your mind. I willneverdo that toyou.”
“And I’m supposed to believe you?”
“You remember everything about last night.It would have made things much easier on me if I erased our firstencounter, but I willnotmess with your mind.”
“Hmm.” She wasn’t entirely sure she believedhim, but she did recall everything about last night, or at leastshe thought she remembered it all.
Turning away from Aiden, she strolled downthe cramped aisles until she found the disposable phones hangingfrom a rack at the end of one. She cringed when she saw thetwenty-five-dollar price tag, but there was nothing she could doabout that. She removed the phone and a phone card before hurryingto the front with them.
“That it for today, Maggie?” the clerk askedas he flipped his car magazine closed.
“That’s it,” she replied and pulled herdebit card from the pocket of her jacket.
